This invention relates in general to ground anchors for manufactured homes, and more specifically involves a clamp connecting an anchor strap to the I-beam frame of a manufactured home.
A typical manufactured home has a frame comprising a pair of longitudinal support beams that are supported at a height above the ground to allow for ventilation and crawl space. Common supports include piers and blocks. Manufactured homes may also be anchored to the ground to help prevent lateral movement due to earthquakes or high winds.
Conventional anchor systems include an anchor head located near the ground at a position off to the side of a beam. The anchor head is typically held in position by being connected to a ground anchor, typically an auger and shaft, driven into the ground. The head may rotate to align with the strap direction. A solid steel strap connects the anchor head and the beam. The strap is tensioned, such as by wrapping the strap around a tensioning bolt in the head. Typically, a clamp is attached to the beam and the strap is attached to the clamp.
A problem with conventional anchor systems is the tendency for the steel anchor straps to break during considerable longitudinal movement of the manufactured home such as may be encountered in earthquakes and hurricanes. The failure of the anchor strap can then result in catastrophic failure of the support system as the home can teeter off its piers.
Longitudinal movement of the home puts great stress on one side of the strap. This causes the strap to rip at a weak point in the strap or at a point of a stress riser, such as its attachment point to the beam or to the beam clamp.
Therefore, there has been a need for a device that reduces the likelihood of anchor strap breakage from movement of anchored item such as a manufactured home.
The invention is a frame clamp for an anchor strap assembly for a manufactured home having a support beam, such as an I-beam, and supported above the ground, such as by piers. The anchor strap assembly includes an elongate anchor strap connecting a ground anchor to the frame clamp. The ground anchor includes a head fixed near the ground to the side of the beam.
The clamp attaches the top end of the strap to the beam and comprises a stationary jaw and a movable jaw. The stationary jaw overlies the top side of the beam and projects downward to engage the distal side of the beam. The movable jaw includes a connecting portion including means for attaching the strap and a contact area. The jaws are joined such that the movable jaw connecting portion is pivotable relative to the stationary jaw about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the strap and such that the movable jaw is hinged relative to stationary jaw such that tensioning the strap moves the contact area toward the stationary jaw so as to clamp the beam therebetween.
In this manner, a very simple clamp, which is extremely easy to apply, has a pivoting feature that reduces strap breakage.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be readily understood when the detailed description thereof is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.